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The Student Government Organization: Executive Council

Thursday, February 11, 2010 3:10PM – 5:50PM

Minutes

I. Attendance

Key: [L] = Late [A] = Absent



Angelica Ahmed, SGO Speaker

[L] N. Chen, President ( I WAS NOT LATE, THE SCHOOL TIME IS WRONG!)

[L] K. Zhang, Vice President

[A] I. Rahman, Parliamentarian

H. Abdul-Karim, Treasurer

W. Chin, Secretary





D. Shadburn, President

[L] I. Ahmad, Vice President

D. Sandfia, Parliamentarian

A. Bukhta, Treasurer

D. Alebdy, Secretary





M. Gorbonosov, President

M. Hossain, Vice President

[L] J. Chan, Parliamentarian

S. Eng, Treasurer

S. Dhaliwal, Secretary





L. Wang, President

I. Cheng, Vice President

[A] S. Pazycheva, Parliamentarian

R. Chinsky, Treasurer

[A] A. Geraloglou, Secretary

II. Business

A. Community Service Presentation

1. Many children suffer from cleft lips, which is a birth defect

2. A student would like to order free bracelets from a company called Smile Train

a. Wants to sell them for $1 each

b. Students can also donate extra money if they would like to

c. All of the proceeds would go to the company

i. The company currently does not have a lot of money to work with, so this would help the cause

3. Each surgery costs about $250

4. Wants help from SGO to sell the bracelets during lunch periods

a. No one opposes helping to sell the bracelets

5. The student will contact the community service coordinator

B. Clearing Storage Room

1. There are a lot of t-shirts from previous years sitting in the storage room

a. We could sell these t-shirts and a March of Dimes bracelet for $1 as a package during lunch periods

i. There are only about 50 bracelets

ii. We could also include the SING t-shirts

iii. Majority vote to sell the t-shirts and bracelets for $1 total

b. Suggestion to donate the t-shirts to the Salvation Army

i. We could donate the leftover t-shirts

c. We will determine what to do with the money once the t-shirts have been sold

d. Sell during the week of February 22nd, right after Winter break

C. Student Copy Center

1. The library upgrade includes a printing upgrade

2. By having a print station in the library, we would have to spend a lot more money on paper to supply the students with

3. There is a question of charging the students for each copy/print or having students bring in a ream of paper at the beginning of the school year

a. If the students bring in a ream of paper, they would be allowed to use the number of sheets in that ream

i. If they exceed that number of sheets they brought in, then they would have to pay for each additional copy made

ii. Each time they need to print or make a copy, they would have to swipe their ID card

iii. If a student does not bring in a ream of paper, the student would have to pay for each sheet of paper used

b. There is a question of how much money SLT (School Leadership Team) is willing to spend on paper

i. How much paper students would use depends on the accessibility of the print shop in the library in this plan

4. The design created by Hector from the architecture major is currently postponed

a. SLT would like to have a long-term plan for the library rather than Hector’s short-term one

D. SGO Credit Cards

1. Mr. Fanning said it would cost about $5 to produce each card

2. It doesn’t make sense to reactivate the card each term

a. It would be better to reactivate the card each year

i. Students would have the same card for all 4 years, unless they lose the card

3. The card would cost $8 to purchase during the first year

4. It would cost $6 to reactivate the card each year for 3 years

5. It would cost $8 to replace the card if a student loses it

6. Students would be receiving a plastic card instead of cardstock so it would be worth their money

7. The benefit of this card would be that students would be given a discount at school events

a. We will start out with SGO events and then slowly reach out to other clubs/teams to see if they would also like to offer discounts to students with the SGO card at their events

i. This may attract larger crowds if the events are cheaper for students with an SGO credit card

ii. We should reach out to clubs/teams by the end of this year and get their feedback about whether or not they would be willing to offer discounts

i. The money from the credit cards benefits them because the money goes back to student activities

b. We can also reach out to local businesses and see how many would be willing to take part in this

i. When YEA had a similar card in place, local businesses did not honor the discount and this idea did not succeed well

ii. Could possibly have local businesses sign a contract, but that would take a lot of time

8. We need to talk to Mr. Fanning about when this new card system will begin

9. There are also national discount cards that are pre-set for schools

a. They are mainly used for colleges, but they may also allow high schools to use a similar card

b. A promotional company would be taking a minor cut but would be bringing in more business from the students at Tech

i. It would benefit us to use more widely-recognized companies because more students go to those places

c. They already have national contracts that are pre-established

d. By next Friday, February 18th, we will each submit different ideas for incentives for purchasing the SGO credit card

i. We will discuss these incentives at the next meeting (Feb. 25th)

E. Senior Prom

1. Some students are observe Sabbath

a. Sabbath is from Friday night until Saturday night so they would not be able to attend their prom

b. For future proms, the current underclassmen should consider this religious observance before deciding on a date for prom

c. There are about 10 students who would be effected

i. Prom is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we should consider changing the date

2. For this year’s prom, it would cost more money to have a different date

a. Senior government should consider the extra cost before deciding if they would like to change the date

i. If the cost is extremely high, then the date may not change

3. Mr. Asher prefers to have prom on a Friday night because it would be convenient for chaperones

a. Chaperones’ convenience should not override the seniors’ experience

4. Another proposal is to have prom on a Saturday night

a. It would be much more expensive

F. Club/Team Council

1. Blood Drive

a. Will take place on March 16th

b. At the Club/Team Council meeting, there were representatives speaking about the blood drive

c. 1 pint of blood can save up to 3 lives

i. Your body makes that pint back within 24 hours

d. Our goal is to reach 120 people who donate blood

i. Last year, about 80 people participated

ii. Should also inform the faculty, especially the physical education teachers, about this opportunity

e. The Council for Student Activities committee that is working on this event will be sent a packet of information

i. Their goal will be to advertise this event and to create forms and appointment lists

2. Carnival

a. Izzy and Club/Team Council are now in charge of the carnival

b. Each club will set up their own booth

i. Whatever profit they make in their individual booths, the club/team will profit from (the proceeds will go to that club/team)

c. SGO wants to have their own booth

d. We could possibly have this at our football field

i. We should consider the other school in that area when deciding a date and time because of discipline issues

i. Would have to set up after 3:00PM on a school day or have the event on a Saturday

ii. Could also have it during one day during regents week in June

e. The committee that originally had this event in Council for Student Activities should speak to Izzy

i. Club/Team Council is forming their own committee to work on this event and the CSA committee could provide some guidance

III. COSA Notes

A. Wrestling team is competing tonight in the PSAL championship

1. Today, the bus cancelled because of the snow, leaving the team without a mode of transportation

a. They would have needed to take 1 bus and 1 train to get there, but they would not have made it in time

2. Mr. Williams found an old class account and on our behalf, paid for a $750 charter bus to take the team to the game

B. School Safety Committee

1. Linda attended as a student representative

2. The committee asked Mr. Newman to determine the improvements in the school for the Living Environment Survey

3. Detention

a. There will be a monthly detention for disciplinary reasons on Saturday from 10:00AM – 1:00PM

b. Mr. Newman is implementing a new policy for cutting class

i. If you cut a class you must make up for that missed period the next day after school

i. The same situation applies if you cut multiple classes in a single day

ii. If you miss it once, it will be rescheduled and if you miss it multiple times it can lead to detention

c. We have a major cutting issue

i. At Bronx Science, when you cut class you have to make up for that time the next day, in detention after school

i. It is automatically set up and the students and parents are notified

ii. This system decreased cutting by 20% at Bronx Science

iii. A similar system will be used in Tech as of March 16th

iv. Students would miss their club activities for detention

d. If you have evidence that you did not cut class, then the situation will be resolved

i. Send possible legitimate instances to Hassanain and Linda, who will bring them up at the next School Safety meeting

e. This is still in the planning stage

4. Pajama Day

a. School Safety would like to either eliminate this day or have guidelines for the clothing that can be worn

i. A lot of inappropriate clothing was worn in school

ii. There were complaints from staff about boxers, tights, wife beaters, etc.

b. Deans were also getting upset because of the cameras and chaos in the lunch rooms

c. This inappropriateness reflects the reputation of the school

5. School Dances

a. People are dancing inappropriately and in a disrespectful manner at dances

i. This reflects the reputation of the school

b. Teachers are feeling uncomfortable attending the school dances because of the inappropriate dancing

i. This will lead to fewer chaperones and there might not be as many dances

ii. Many students also feel uncomfortable attending dances because of the way people are dancing

c. Some schools across the country ban certain types of music

d. Alcohol is being found in the bathrooms and students are often drunk while at the dance

i. Deans and staff could possibly test students with breathalyzers if they are suspected to have been drinking

ii. From now on we can only sell beverages in cups (no more cans)

i. Students may not leave the vicinity of the dance with a cup in their hand

iii. The number of students who go to the bathroom at a time may also become limited

iv. From now on everyone attending the dance must show their ticket and Tech ID

C. National Testing Day by the Princeton Review

D. The Learning Environment Survey is coming out

1. The deadline to fill them out is April 23rd

2. We will receive the list of categories included in the survey

3. This survey is very confidential

4. Students will complete it in class

5. Parents have an option to fill it out online or on paper

E. Vending Machines

1. They are gone due to high child obesity rates in the country

2. We can now sell any approved items directly after the last lunch period

F. Open House is on February 22nd

1. SGO members will be in the 1st floor gym answering questions about the school/after school program

G. The Challenge is on March 4th

1. It will take place all day

2. We will meet at the location at 8:30AM

3. It will end depending on whether or not our team will make it to the next round

H. LEAD Conference

1. Other schools who went to D.C. for other reasons were snowed in until Monday

I. Elevators

1. There are mixed comments about the elevators, but the positive feedback outweighs the negative feedback

a. There have been some comments about having 1 local elevator

i. There would be an issue of overcrowding on that 1 elevator

b. Most people are content with the express elevators

c. The east side should have express elevators because as of now, all of the express elevators are on the west side

i. That is because students enter from the west side of the building

ii. Those elevators also go to the 8th floor

iii. Elevators D and E used to be the most crowded elevators, but now that crowding has eased

d. There is some extra money that is not designated for any project because there weren’t any mid-year budget cuts

i. We could do 1 more elevator (make it express)

ii. Possibly do the H car or the elevator on the southeast side

iii. We could also put some of this money to the locker rooms because $14,000 from the America’s Favorite School Contest will not cover everything

J. School Safety

1. There are no security guards in the hallways during passing

a. Some floors have major loitering issues during passing, making it hard for many students to make it to their next class on time

2. We are already short by one dean

3. On most days we have about 16 agents

K. Senior Privilege

1. SLT will submit documentation to discuss the proposal

a. SLT decided to table this discussion for the next meeting on February 25th

2. The drawbacks outweigh the benefits

3. NYPD advised us not to do this because of the safety issue of students

IV. Open Agenda

A. The SGO fund currently has $630 plus the money earned from Flowers for Favorites

B. Linda wanted to purchase 500+ Brooklyn Tech pens to sell at the Open House

1. This will not happen because the reason for Open House is to promote Tech and not to sell merchandise

2. This can happen during Freshman Orientation in the summer

3. Key Club has 500+ pens that have “Brooklyn Tech” on them

a. They do not have any representation of Key Club on them

C. Michelle wants to have a workshop about how to organize a general event

1. She already spoke to Izzy about this and Izzy agreed

2. Should coordinate this with Club/Team Council and Council for Student Activities

3. There is an old checklist from last year’s Lights Out

a. Michelle will use this checklist to make a more general one for all events

D. Teachers should be tested on their sanity after a certain time period

1. Should bring this up at UFT (United Federation of Teachers) and the DOE

E. Day of Silence

1. We should partner up with Gay Straight Alliance to advertise this event better

2. Could possibly hold an isolated lunch area for students who are silent to sit together

3. Could also offer this to teachers, but it would be difficult for them to teach

a. It would be up to them if they would like to participate

F. Alumni Day is on April 24th

G. The Talent Show is on February 26th

1. The committee in charge would like to donate 10% of the proceeds to Haiti

V. Reminders

A. Open House has been rescheduled to Monday the 22nd

VI. Adjournment